We have received word that Up North there is snow and a sudden unwarranted return to winter. The upshot down here is a sudden return...to winter. Yesterday the doors were thrown open and Rusty sat disconsolately on the deck watching the water drip off the eaves. For a confirmed air conditioning freak the idea of open doors at home mid May is bizarre but the east wind was cool and the skies were overcast.
I took these pictures a few days ago and I am posting them here because I am too old to go out under an umbrella and look for wild scenes. Rusty got his evening walk between downpours and the evening ended up with milk and cookies in front of the TV.
The Citizen newspaper ran an article reporting stormy weather on the economic front with a partial list of businesses that have decided not to come back after the shut down of the Keys. Coffee Plantation, Kojin, Fresh Produce were some of the names. More will follow no doubt in a town where prices are so high and anyone can collapse in the face of absolutely no business happening.
I have given up trying to follow or understand the virus because I feel like it has a laser focus on population centers up north. A rash of infection has appeared in a local retirement home which is part of the pattern and one can legitimately wonder what happens next. On the other hand no one seems to know anything about coronavirus or what to expect.
I am having. hard time wrapping my head around the prospect of another Great Depression. Anyone who lived through the last one was marked for life by the experience. If we face general economic collapse God help people already living in the edge, be they here or in the Third World. I have heard the statistic that most Americans have no defense in the face of an unexpected bill and it breaks my heart seeing so many food giveaways. The millionaire class is nowhere to be seen and they are the ones who want their name on every pubic work they want to fund. Restaurants and employed workers feed the hungry in this town, led by the amazing Catholic Charities operation.
The rain falls on the just and unjust alike, just the same way the sun shines and we will all feel the pain of this badly managed catastrophe. We in the keys are exempt from a lot of the indecisive leadership thanks to the decisiveness of the Sheriff who shut down the roads and kept out a long line of cars filled with people who don't get social distancing. I'd like to think self discipline and survival would drive people to take care of their community but it doesn't seem to work like that.
People in Europe have been locked down like they are in prison unlike here in Florida where outdoor activities done alone or with family members have been tolerated. Like the man said we live in a time when being anti social isn't just tolerated, it's required. Lovely.
Except being confined to quarters is not lovely at all. When you live in the tropics you expect rain in the seasons. nice time to watch the temperature drop under dramatic cloudy skies. But after a short while one expects to see blue skies and bright colors again. I spent yesterday darting in and out doing some over due gardening chores watched by a dog who remembers all too well living in the wild and getting wet. Rusty appreciates living out of the weather.
The Citizen news paper's wordy editor who is relatively new around here took a long column to explain that we will be served better by a smaller paper which will now publish three days a week, down from six. Its a time of intense news coverage and political oneupmanship tat we really don't need yet the coverage will shrink. It's like when you go to the supermarket and they preface their innovations with "...to serve you better..." which is never true.
This is a time of uncertainty and thus we get aphorisms bromides and platitudes aplenty. Our indebted neighbors call for freedom in the face of the virus, our leaders look confused and we are advised to stay safe and stay strong. Well, ok, I'll try. I'll stand on the sidelines scratch my head and continue making my deliveries of dog food which I surreptitiously add to my grocery runs and drop off at the SPCA which says there are people who can't feed their pets. Now that gives me the creeps as I look at Rusty fun walked and loved snoring in his bed.
The rain will go away and I hope the virus follows suit and quickly. Please.
